Christopher Nolan's "Dunkirk" (July 21, 2017) - Part 2

[Filmfan93]

Seeing it in 2 hours. I am feeling that special excitement of going to see a new Nolan film. Will write my thoughts tonight.

See you soon, guys and enjoy!

 

[Blitzkrieg]

For me it's the best film of the year so far. Easily. Bravo, Nolan.

Woah. I'm glad you loved it.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

0k, it's evident that the Harry Styles fan-girls and the Nolan Fan-boys inflated the OD to a great deal. It curb stomped WOTPOTA, the 3rd movie of an established franchise. So yeah, there will be some serious front-loading for Dunkirk.

Nao I do believe Dunkirk will be very walk-up friendly and I've read that walk-up business is doing great. So that'll soften the front-loading due to fanboy rush to some extent. So 50 million+ ain't locked but (44-47) million is a good bet atm.

 

[terry78]

I didn't think it would matter that much but I actually heard some chicks on the train this morning talking about how they wanna see that movie with Harry Styles.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

I didn't think it would matter that much but I actually heard some chicks on the train this morning talking about how they wanna see that movie with Harry Styles.

Harry Styles !!! The power of his boyish good looks and captivating charisma !!!!

He's got an eye for the girls

 

[harlequinade]

I am on my phone so I will share more later but easy 10/10. By no means cold people sobbed during my screening. The ending in particular was so moving. Nolans 2nd best for me

 

[OutOfBoose]

I'm probably in the minority, but I prefer Fionn Whitehead.

 

[Blitzkrieg]

I'm probably in the minority, but I prefer Fionn Whitehead.

I was expecting a masked Tom Hardy but Fionn Whitehead seems fair.

 

[DKDetective]

That's not exactly what I read. Essentially the word I kept seeing was "masterpiece", and when that's followed by Best Picture, yes. I tend to think Oscar bait. Given I knew very little about the film. I didn't keep up with the production, and I think I only watched the first trailer. I adore Nolan, so I figured I'd be seeing it regardless. My big thing now was basically whether I was gonna be taking the old lady or not, but the more I hear, the less I think she'll enjoy it.

If she is a WWII and history buff as you said, she should enjoy it greatly. Seeing real Spitfires in the air dogfighting with Messerschimidts and the attention to historical detail should please any history nerd.

 

[OutOfBoose]

If she is a WWII and history buff as you said, she should enjoy it greatly. Seeing real Spitfires in the air dogfighting with Messerschimidts and the attention to historical detail should please any history nerd.

I'm a WWII and history buff and I was blown-away.

 

[DKDetective]

I'm a WWII and history buff and I was blown-away.

Same, the spring 1940 German offensive has always been of particular fascination to me. Some fan reviews complained about the changing weather, but the film did a really good job of mirroring the weather that week. The weather was rougher earlier in the week, which reduced aerial involvement and then cleared up near the end. The aerial tactics were spot-on and seeing some actual Dunkirk little ships used in the movie was awesome.

Spoiler

The way the Spitfires were slower, lower flying, and more agile whereas the BF109s were faster and better at altitude was well-displayed by how the Messerschidts kept coming at the Spitfires from above.

 

[DeadStroke]

Woah. I'm glad you loved it.

Its OutofBoose so he's probably incorrect




j/k..

 

[harlequinade]

I was a bit puzzled by a choice of the final shot. Has Nolan spoken about that?

 

[Tacit Ronin]

I am in the theater now guys. Lincoln square.


Goose bumps.....

Have come back, mah thoughts:


Though this is a summer blockbuster with a PG-13 certificate, though this is a movie with a budget north of 100 million, though this is a movie starring a popular heartthrob, though this is a story that has been mythologized at the center of every British boy and girl's national identity, this is not a PG-13 summer blockbuster starring a heartthrob with a massive budget based on a national myth. This is an experimental movie made on a tentpole budget. Situated in a month where Hollywood's most safe and trite compete. Dunkirk zips in like a Spitfire firing a barrage of non-linear time hopping and time lines, breathtaking formalism and aesthetic ingenuity and a defiant lack of narrative conventions.

Though this is about the miraculous evacuation of the British at Dunkirk, bathed in sandy grays, cloudy blues and sea greens, it might as well have taken place at any war in modern military history. Nolan is concerned about elaborating his country's most triumphant hour, but he is also concerned about human triumph in the face of insurmountable odds. This is where his fragmented chorus becomes a singular sermon. From land, sea or air, by bones, flesh or blood, the absolute disdain for capitulation at the unpredictable, brutal and unhinged hand of doom.

This is a movie about the human spirit's capacity for survival. In all of its manifestations. The good, the bad. The empathetic and the selfish. The sacrifices we would endure to help our fellow man and the dishonesty we would pursue to help ourselves. In this movie, people sail miles out to sea to help rescue their cornered brothers and Commanders remain in the Lion's den to rescue those who haven't been. All the while some of these brothers in arms are more concerned about saving themselves. Some are willingly travelling to death's door to save their boys, others will try anything to save their lives from death's grasp.

It's a movie about ordinary men committing extraordinary acts of heroism. Where some of the bravest grace notes come not from the trapped soldiers but the average citizens, buoyed by concern and dignity for their fellow man. This means going out of your way to lend a hand (or stick and ropes) to save men floating on desperation, as well as the capacity for absolute empathy. To look beyond potential manslaughter in the madness of war and let go. Because sometimes, people deserve more than the truth. People deserve to have their faith rewarded.

I am curious to see how this will play beyond the large format 70mm. Imax isn't just a huge canvas Nolan uses to paint his version of war. It becomes an elemental force. Representing humanity itself. Though it's less a metaphysical representation and more a mechanical one. With every act of cowardice or bravery, you can trace the history of our behavioral evolution as a species. Propelled by that singular desire for survival, both individual and collective. We must live. Why? We really don't know, or care really. None of these soldiers are more than ciphers. Their daily lives are a mystery to us. We don't know what they are fighting so hard to survive for, beyond themselves. We just know, or understand, that they do. We live and we die, but before that, we survive. That's what Dunkirk embodies in its fiery soul.


Go see this ******* movie.

 

[StormC]

Did you just out yourself as using an alt account?

 

[Tacit Ronin]

I've never hid it. I shall post from both interchangeably. Problem?

 

[BatLobster]

Tacit, honestly, you should consider taking a go at reviewing films on a blog or something. This is not the first time I've seen you write a very concise, but elegantly-worded review on here that puts many of the blogger critics on RT to shame.

Just sayin'. Glad you liked the film though.

 

[Tacit Ronin]

Thanks man. I'm gonna see this again on a smaller format to see how this holds up. It's his most radical film since Memento, but is it his best? Only time will tell.

 

[OutOfBoose]

I saw it on a small format and it holds just fine. Still gorgeous and sounds amazing.

 

[DeadStroke]

91%...

Yea this may finish in the 80s.

 

[Tacit Ronin]

The reactions at the end of the film was interesting. A few were noticeably shook and sobbing. A quarter of the theater (my estimate) clapped. Some groaned and a few were visibly mad and confused. This is not gonna be a four quadrant crowd pleaser.

 

[OutOfBoose]

91%...

Yea this may finish in the 80s.

Dream is dead.

 

[BatSpider]

91%...

Yea this may finish in the 80s.

Dont even care, Nolan's films will always be divisive as they engage audiences in thought-provoking, instinctual, guttural reactions. Critics will always have a tougher time going through their checklists with his films.

 

[DeadStroke]

Dream is dead.

I do think that Nolan has a better shot at winning Best Director than Dunkirk will have at winning Best Picture.

 

[harlequinade]

Christopher Nolan has no fear.

That was my thought when something happened in Dunkirk that made the audience uncomfortable and sad. A brilliant way to show that during war time the innocent get hurt even in accidental way. But everything in this movie is so unique, so ambitious and relentless. I was gasping throughout because of the film's intensity but I was also filled with profound respect for the director.

Nolan has never made a bad movie. While Interstellar, his weakest movie, is undone by its script that is simultaneously filled with too much exposition and giving the audience too little to understand (or care), Dunkirk's story is very simple. Soldiers are left behind. People want to, need to or have the duty to rescue them. That's it.

I am puzzled by the people who claim this movie is cold. Yes, there are no flashbacks of brave soldiers having families at home. There are no side plots with those family members missing them and praying for them. We only see these men - desperately trying to survive at any cost, desperately trying to rescue others. The situation in itself evokes sympathy but the film has two genuinely wonderfully moving moments - one to which Kenneth Brannagh's character reacts brilliantly and the ending montage (Nolan is a master at this).

But what Dunkirk is, is an experience. Hans Zimmer's score is present throughout - a beat, like a very fast heartbeat that speeds up and mixes with epic sounds when it needs to. Thanks to this there is tension throughout. But what kept me so very engaged - other than the story - was the brilliant surprise. My favorite movie by Nolan is The Prestige - a delightful cinematic magic trick that hides so many surprises for the viewer in the plot. While Dunkirk's plot is simple Nolan surprises again - this time in structure.

The film goes back and forth between the land, the sea and the air sequences and that is all I knew beforehand. Let's just say there is something concerning one character appearing somewhere that I had not been anticipating and since that moment the film gained another layer - assembling all the pieces together.

As the gap between the three pieces of the narrative grows smaller the film becomes more and more intense the longer it lasts. It's just beautifully done - the editing, the sound. It's certainly worth a trip to cinema, I'd say more than once.

This is not the kind of film that gives actors opportunity to get awards for it - it's ensemble piece where everyone delivers fantastic work including several young actors whom I never saw before. There are no weak performances here, everyone is utterly convincing. No one steals the show but who slightly stood out for me was Tom Glynn-Carney who plays Dawson's son and Brannagh.

While The Prestige remains my favorite Nolan movie this is certainly a masterpiece too and one of the finest war films I've ever seen.

my thoughts from letterboxd